However Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberg stressed the importance of the "separation between internal and external security" and noted that "not everything that is constitutionally possible is politically right".

The opposition Social Democrats welcomed the "last resort" restrictions imposed by the court, home affairs expert Michael Hartmann said.

But the far-left party Linke warned that the decision "opens the door to a further militarisation of home affairs and hollows out democratic rights".

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Reinhard Gaier said the court had gone beyond its powers, and that the government should seek an amendment to the constitution if it aimed to deploy the military on German soil.